The Week in Finance: New National Infrastructure Plan to Fuel Growth

This week, the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) is experiencing low profitability as a result of the grim prospects regarding a trade agreement between the US and China. In addition, Mexico’s Banks Association (ABM) announced that the country is save from an economic recession despite its weak behavior during 3Q19 and explained that Mexico is in a situation of economic stagnation.

Nevertheless, Mexico's economic development will not be contained by turmoil, as the wealthiest businessmen in the world announced that the recently published National Infrastructure Plan will detonate the country's prosperity. Once the plan starts, it is expected the economy will break free and expand across economic sectors, crashing through the barriers that uncertainty has put up.

Now, hold on to your wallets! Here’s the Week in Finance!

NATIONAL

• Mexico’s richest businessman, Carlos Slim, said the federal government’s commitment will be the trigger to detonate Mexico’s economy with the recently announced National Infrastructure Plan, along with private investment.

• Alejandro Armenta Mier, President of the Senate’s Finance Commission explained that several states and municipalities face liquidity problems, detentions and deficits in public services. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, together with the parliamentary coordinator of Morena in the Senate, Ricardo Monreal, expressed the necessity to modify the laws of Financial Discipline of Federal Entities and Municipalities, as well as the conditions of public-private partnerships.

• ABM’s President Luis Niño de Rivera said Mexico is not in an economic recession despite showing weaker behavior in 3Q19, but stagnated. He said there are sectors with good progress and others "that are not going so well,” which will result in 0 percent economic growth by the end of the year.

• Starting Tuesday, Santander will remove fees for sending remittances from the US to Mexico. The Executive Chairman of Grupo Santander, Ana Botín, made sure that no Santander branches in the American Union charge commissions for sending remittances to any bank in Mexican territory.

• ABM estimates closing 2019 with almost 2 million accounts linked to CoDi. The goal set on September 30 was 1.4 million.

INTERNATIONAL

• Lebanon has repaid a $1.5 billion Eurobond expected to mature on Thursday, pacifying the fears of the first default on its debt in the midst of the worst financial crisis in three decades.

• Japanese equity markets are in line for their greatest shake-up in decades as efforts to draw fresh capital surge with a stable and well-governed stock index for foreign investors.

• Alibaba's shares jumped more than 6 percent during the company’s Hong Kong trading debut after the technology group raised more than US$11billion. Alibaba’s shares opened 6.25 percent higher at HK$187 (US$23.90), with the group raising HK$88billion (US$11.3billion). The city’s benchmark Hang Seng index gained 0.4 percent. The stock closed 6.7 percent higher at HK$187.60 (US$23.96).